Moonah

Groundbreaking culinary exploration of the coastline.

November 18, 2024

1 / 7Native Angasi oyster with parsnip puree and yuzu agrumat.Supplied

2 / 7Inside the intimate dining room.Marnie Hawson

4 / 7Sea urchin with fermented tomatillo juice.Marnie Hawson.

6 / 7One of the dishes at Moonah.Marnie Hawson

Contemporary$$$$

Editors' note

The Age published an investigation on January 10, 2025 detailing allegations against Moonah’s chef Tobin Kent of bullying, racism and supplying alcohol to under-age staff. Kent rejects the contention that Moonah has cultural issues. As a result of the investigation, Good Food has revoked Moonah’s The Age 2025 Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year award, and retracted its score and two hats in the Good Food app.

Very few chefs have the talent, ambition and ability to do what Tobin Kent does at Moonah, a restaurant so integrated with its surroundings that it warrants its own genre: coastal Victorian cooking.

A charming old farmhouse looks out over a wide billabong. Lunch starts on the deck and then moves into the sun-soaked dining room.

Working from a long table in the centre of the room, Kent plates up Portarlington mussels, barely cooked and pooled in a mussel broth flavoured only with sparkling wine. The result is like taking a gulp of the ocean, if it were subtle and lightly sweet. John dory tiled with truffle and set in a mushroom broth is as earthy as a forest walk.

Quiet, contemplative and thrilling, this experience will have you rethinking the entire concept of regional Australian cooking.